Good luck Susie. I think you need every distraction you can get. The biggest problem I've had at the last couple of yard sales I did was people stealing. Just wanted you to look out and be prepared for it. I rekon a quarter is too much to pay for something these days. It's a shame what the world has come too.

The biggest pointer I have is to keep your cashbox in your posession at all times. ONce you have taken in over $50 or so move some of the cash inside the house and do have someone stationed by the door to prevent people from entering the house.

Also, one mistake people make is to make the lettering on their signs far too small and people can't read it. You need very large lettering.

I've never seen drinks sold at yard sales here but why not?

If it's really hot, the drinks may be the first thing to go!
Here's another good luck to you. I'm providing a link that may be helpful, as long as you can get in gear. I hope you have much success!

Here is a link that might be useful: Garage Sale Planning Guide

Good luck Susie!

I've always done well selling beverages at yard sales. Over the years I had acquired 30 or so coffee cups with logos, cartoons, etc and wanted to get rid of them. Coffee cups are notoriously hard to sell - no one else wants them either! LOL! So I set up a coffee station, with all the cups and sold them for $1.00 per, but you had to take the cup with you! LOLOL!

When it was hot I've also had a cooler set up with ice, water, juice boxes and sodas - sold for $0.75 and they went really FAST!

Good luck - the diversion is probably just what you need

Alexa

I'm an avid garage sailer so here's my advice.

Merchandise:
Since it's a town-wide sale, you are competing with TONS of other sales. If you don't have a lot of stuff to sell, I wouldn't bother. When I go to sales like that where there are lots of sales going on within a small area, I don't bother getting out of the car for the sales which have one table or very few items. It's a waste of my time (as a customer) because there are too many other sales to see. On a normal day where there are just a limited number of sales, this sale might be more attractive because, well, why not stop and look. But when there are too many others to look at, it's not worth my time.

Signage:
Even though they will be handing out lists, Id do signs. TheyÂll have the addresses, yes, but itÂs really nice for people who arenÂt familiar with the streets in your area to find YOUR sale. Put your address including number on the signs. Garage Sale - 1234 Elm Street - and an arrow is all you need. Use large letters. DonÂt bother listing what you have for sale. Half the battle is getting them to your house. TheyÂll see what you have once they are there.

A color theme on the signs is nice. A bright color poster helps people follow the signs from far away. Make your signs two sided so that people coming from either direction can read it.

Again, since this is town-wide, you have a lot of competition. Make YOUR sale stand out.

Problems to avoid:
--writing on the sign is too small to read
--arrow pointing the wrong way or no arrow
--no sign at a spot where you must make a decision to turn one way or the other (don't assume your customers are familiar with your neighborhood - they aren't)
--and please take your signs down when the sale is over, it's frustrating to follow the signs to a non-existent sale

Starting time:
Is the starting time set by the organizers? ItÂs best to start somewhere between 7 & 8. Any later is too late and you will lose the early customers.
Whatever starting time you are starting, be out there at least 30 minutes earlier to put your stuff out. By the time the starting time rolls around, everything should be set out. You'll have early birds no matter what but when I arrive at a sale at or after the starting time and they are still putting stuff out, it's annoying. I'm not going to stand around waiting to see what's coming. There are lots of other garage sales waiting for me and the good stuff is going so I don't want to waste time.

Pricing:
Price everything. I won't ask for a price. If nothing is priced, I leave.

Be willing to haggle but the haggle should be simple. Will you take $1 for this? Yes, no or a counter offer. I don't care what you paid for it, what price it would be if I bought it in a store, how meaningful it is/was to you or any other information EXCEPT if you are willing to take the amount I offered or if you have a counter offer.

The money you paid for the stuff you have is GONE. You will never have that money back. Now it's about what you can make today. And that is based on what someone is willing to pay. Price your stuff according to that, not according to what you paid.

When people make an offer, depending on the time of day, consider whether you want to have it left over. First thing in the morning you can afford to be more steadfast, depending on the item. As the day wears on, keep in mind that the person making the offer may be the last person to be interested. Do you want to be stuck with the item or have the money?

Haggle but don't argue. Once you've gone your lowest, if the customer doesn't want it at that price, that's the end of the conversation. Don't get into an argument even if they try to. It's a turn off to other customers. Smile and walk away.

Drinks:
Can drinks and bottled water sell well. Put a bunch of cans in an ice chest and sell them for 75c or a buck. They go.

Books:
Don't make me paw through stacked books in a box. Spines should be visible so I can easily glance at the titles. Don't bother individually pricing books either. Hardbacks $1 and paperbacks 50 cents. Done. Put up multiple signs with those prices, depending on how many you have. Magazines, 25 cents. That's what they charge at the used book sales at the library so that's what I'd do too.

Good luck!!!

May's advice is good. You can tell she is a serious garage saler! LOL

Yes, you need good signs. Even tho there is a list available of all the sales, you will still snag the customers that just happen to be driving by and do not have that list.

I totally agree with her on making sure there is a price tag on everything. I am another that will more often than not skip an item rather than ask the price.

Good luck!

Linda

"Pricing:
Price everything. I won't ask for a price. If nothing is priced, I leave."

This is one hint I thought of after I had already sent my message. I too leave a sale immediately if everything isn't priced. I know this is OT but that's why I stay out of jewelry stores too for the most part. I'm not about to go around asking for the price on a dozen items or so. And I love jewelry! I think this ploy, regardless of it's reasons run many people away.

I agree Beverly! Not only do I not want to ask on a dozen or how ever many items, but I always get the feeling that the price I'm being quoted is based on the fact that I'm interested.

IOW you might have marked an item $2 but since I'm holding it in my hand and asking the price, you (conciously OR subconciously) think, Hey, I got a customer, I should ask $4!

Whether that is true or not, that's my perception. So I always figure the seller is quoting higher than they should. Thus my reluctance to bother asking at all.

Have plenty of change ready. Have clear prices on everything. Have a place to sit down (for you). If you have junk, throw it away. No one wants useless junk. Clean off the spiderwebs and dust. Keep the money with you at all times. Don't walk away for a minute. Think about parking ahead of time and don't let people pull up onto your lawn and sidewalk.

Yard sales seem to bring out the worst in a few people. I like to go once in awhile to look for treasures but I often walk away thinking "who in the heck would buy that trash?" On the other hand, I have found some treasures. I have better luck at flea markets and thrift shops.

And why do they hide the price of jewelry? That is so annoying.

Keep all the doors to your house locked during the sale and the key on your person. Groups of thieves also work yard sales, not to steal items from the sale but to distract the sellers by haggling over an item, asking a zillion questions or even by saying they're having chest pains or feel faint. Meanwhile, others will slip into the house and take items like a laptop computer, any prescription medications from the bathroom cabinets or nightstands, or jewelry in a jewelry box/chest or hidden in an underwear drawer. They're in and out in about three minutes and will have worked their way through a block of homes before the first theft is noticed.

Great advice!!

I did a block wide yard sale at my in laws house about 20 years ago and it was really fun!!
Good idea to keep the house locked up...knowing me I'll get gabbing and well...best to be prepared!

I will get lots of small bills and change and I plan to wear an apron to keep the cash close.

Cheers!
Susie

Pam, I had to laugh reading your post regarding junk. I am always amazed at some of the crap people buy at yard sales while beautiful items go untouched!

I sold some totally beat up, stained, old cheap pots and pans one time. I was gonna toss them, but figured I'd wait and see if anyone wanted them....sure enough!

The strangest thing I ever sold in a yard sale was a bag of partially used cosmetics....eye shadows, lipsticks, colognes, nail polish, etc. EWWWW!

Linda

Here is an article I just came across on my AOL Welcome Screen about garage sailing....... I didnt read the whole thing, it just caught my eye since I saw your post here earlier today.

Here's another few small tips FYI:

I never keep any change other than quarters. I don't price anything less than 25 cents, and make sure all prices reflect the quarters in my box. That way you're not dinking around with other loose change, pennies, etc. It just keeps things easier.

If someone offers you an amount that's ridiculously less, take a bid. Make sure they leave their name and phone number, and tell them at what time you'd be calling. Leaving a Bid Box on the check out table helps remind people the price could be negotiable (by you; you'll let them know). The best thing you can do when the buyers are being ridiculous is to smile and say, ''It's priced to sell, however you're welcome to leave a bid.'' Just because someone is rude doesn't mean you have be, and being pleasant makes a better impression if a buyer thinks it over and comes back to buy.

I found that playing music often helps people stay longer at my sale (if they like what I'm playing). It helps to pick your demographic, but the longer I can keep people at my sale, the chances are the more they buy.

If you can get other organized people to set up with you at your sale, it helps everyone out to have a lot of stuff. (It's what May said!) I take $$ for other people, and walk it right over to them once the sale is done. My only rule for inviting other sellers is they have to be PRESENT at the sale. (They should also bring their own change, chair and preferably a table.) That way, anyone who wants to negotiate can do so directly with the seller. It also helps to advertise in the paper, and the more people who are selling, can help defray the cost of advertising. Only list your highest dollar pieces in the ad, and limit each seller to five, to keep advertising costs in hand.

Good luck!

I am NOT fond of holding garage sales but one thing I learned was to "merchandise" any item I could. I had stacks of old sets of dishes, some with chips. No one even looked at them until I used them to set the table, also for sale. I sold three entire sets in quick succession. As well as glasses, chairs, flatware, vases, linens. When something sold, I replaced it with another item.

Oh, the merchandising tip is really good. One time I had some oak slats (stacks of them) used for flooring in a pig pen (they were clean), and no one looked at them until we stood them in an A-frame configuration and put a sign on them that said ''Tomato Shade''. They started going like hotcakes after that! Of course it was during tomato-growing season which helped. I recall that at the time I wondered if maybe we should have kept a couple for ourselves, but was out-voted.